Notes for Summer

We have begun to work on Fall 2013 and are excited about some upgrades that we will have for fall.  It is also never too early for some of you to start working on getting your little one ready for preschool!

• Meet the Teacher/Parent Meeting is set for August 28 and 29.  Parents of Nursery, Toddler 1 and Toddler 2 children will come with their child at 9:30 AM.  Children will stay with their new teachers while parents meet with me in the Chapel room.  Parents of Preschool and Pre-K will come at 11:00 AM.  If you have two children in the different age groups, you will want to attend the second meeting.  IF YOU ARE NEW TO SHINING LIGHT AND HAVE TWO CHILDREN IN THE DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS, YOU WILL WANT TO ATTEND BOTH SESSIONS.
• Franklin Christian Church is now set up with online giving and that means you will also be able to make payments on our website.  In fact you will be able to set up a user profile, and I've been told, print out all your payments for use with your tax requirements/filings. Take a look at the new set up at www.franklinchristianchurch.com.  As a result of this new upgrade, we will no longer use PayPal.
• Speaking of financial matters, Ms. Betsy Turnage, formerly of Preschool 2, will be taking over as our financial administrative assistant.  You will still be able to use the mdorecords@franklinchristianchurch.com as a means of communication with her. 

• Nursery, Toddler 1, and Toddler 2 parents - this applies to you!  If you are new to Shining Light, your child will nap in Nursery, T1 and T2.  We use the plastic nap mats that you can purchase at Walmart.  They are red/blue and fold up neatly.  You can purchase covers for them online or use a king-size pillowcase for covering.  If you think your child will never sleep on a mat because he/she is used to a crib, try this tip.  Several weeks before school begins, have your child nap on the new nap mat in his/her room.  It will take a few days to get used to.  Use a covering, blanket, pacifier, stuffed animals, anything that they need to feel comforted.  Be sure and tell them this is how "big kids" nap at preschool.  Stick to it and you will have then used to it by the time school begins!
• Preschool parents!  We need your child potty-trained by the start of the school year.  If not completely potty-trained, they need to be actively working toward it.  Once school begins, we will ask that they be in underwear or pull-ups only.  On October 1 we will ask that you ONLY bring them in underwear - no diapers, no pull-ups.  We encourage you to actively work on this. Our rooms are not equipped with diaper changing tables.  The majority of the children will already be potty-trained and potty breaks will be scheduled throughout the day.  Thank you in advance for helping us with this task!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer!  For those of you joining us for the summer session, we will see you next week!

Oklahoma

I grieve every time I hear of children being endangered, and the tornadoes yesterday were tragic.  Even though we practice both fire and tornado drills at Shining Light, I am sure in the back of our minds we are thinking "this won't happen to us."

On the news this morning they are asking for a donation of $10 to Red Cross and if all gave that amount, what a blessing to Oklahoma that would be.

Please pray for those who lost everything, including family members.

www.redcross.org

FYI

The children did so well in both programs.  It was a joy to watch them, and nobody took their clothes off, which is probably a first for us!

Thank you for sharing your little "angels" with us this year!  We have enjoyed them tremendously!

FYI - If you ordered portraits from SpoiledRottenPhotography, they will be ready in a week or two.  I will set up a day to be at the church, so you can come by and pick them up.  I will post the date(s) and time on the blog.

I think we still have a couple of openings for summer school if you are interested.  The openings are for the three year old class and one is available in Pre-K.  Contact Lynne Davis is you are interested:  www.ShiningLightSummer@franklinchristianchurch.com.  Summer school begins Tuesday June 4th!

Okay, one last thing...

Of course, I thought of one last thing to add!

Please have your child on time this Wednesday and Thursday.  The children will be making final preparations before the program and this includes a trip to the potty!  We need your child present no later than 9:10 in order to get everyone lined up and ready to go upstairs.  It is like herding ducks, and we need plenty of lead time! 

Thanks so much!

Last Bit of News for the Year

Last day of car lane will be Tuesday, May 14th.  Join us for our Spring Program and Pre-K Graduation on May 15 and 16.  Doors will open upstairs at 9:30 AM and program will begin at 9:45.

Children ages Nursery through Preschool need to wear their blue Shining Light tees with jeans or jean skirt.  Pre-K children are asked to wear their Sunday best.  No large hair bows please so the cap will fit on!

Pre-K parents, plan to stay after the program to join us for a celebration downstairs in your child's classroom.

Also on the 15th and 16th, a registration table for VBS will be set up in the upstairs foyer.  If you have a child turning 4 by June 1st, please join us for VBS on June 17 - 20, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM.  

Last day for Shining Light will be Monday, May 20th.  This is a full day.

As this may be my last post for this school year, I want to take the opportunity to tell you how much we've enjoyed your children this year.  They are a constant source of wonder and amusement, and we have delighted in seeing how they grow and mature during the course of the year.  Thank you for allowing us the honor of contributing a small part to this growth!

For those of you moving on from Shining Light, we wish you only the best in your next adventure!  For those returning, please continue to follow the blog for the latest updates over the summer.  We will begin to plan for 2013-14 the first of June.  And we look forward to seeing some of you at our summer session beginning June 4th.

Have a wonderful summer!

VBS

If you have a child who is four years old by June 1st up through 5th grade, we would like to invite you to Franklin Christian Church's VBS this summer.  VBS will be June 17-20 (9:00 AM - 12:00 PM).  You can either register online at www.franklinchristianchurch.com or you can pick up a form at the front foyer desk downstairs.

Our theme this year is "Not of This World" and you will see a few aliens around FCC!  If you have not experienced VBS at FCC before, we invite you to join the other 300 children who will be attending.  It is always a lot of fun with skits, crafts, lesson, lots of music and outdoor play.

And if helping out interests you, we are always looking for volunteers.  It takes about 100 volunteers to pull this off, so help is greatly appreciated!  If your child is under four, you can still help out, and we have a class for the young children of volunteers.

You will also see several of the Shining Light staff there that week.  I teach the elementary lesson and usually find myself dressing up in some kind of costume.  I'm not sure how an alien one is going to look on me this year...

PayPal

PayPal will be removed from the blog on May 15th.  Franklin Christian Church is going to a new online payment system, so we will no longer need to use PayPal.

If you are returning next year, you will still have the option of paying online.  It will just be done through the FCC website rather than the blog.

There are a few who still owe for May.  We are trying to close down our books for this school year.  If you are in doubt about what you owe, please contact Kely Fouraker at mdorecords@franklinchristianchurch.com.  This is the e-mail that we use for our record keeping.  Thanks so much!

Pre-K

I accidentally left off the last post that while Nursery through Preschool classes are to wear their t-shirts for the program, Pre-K children are asked to dress up.  Sunday type clothing (I'm dating myself...we used to dress up for Sundays!) is appropriate.  We just ask that the girls DO NOT wear large hair bows.  We have found that we can't get those little graduation caps over them!

Thanks!

FYI

• Pre-K parents - if you have not submitted a baby photo of your child yet, please do so.  It is going to be a part of the graduation ceremony.  You may e-mail your teacher one or bring one in.
• Don't forget that children need to wear their Shining Light tee for the Spring Program.  Also, we are practicing upstairs all this week, so please arrive on time!
• Two of our staff attended an Internet Safety & Kids seminar at Independence High this past week.  There is some good information about what is out there right now that can pose a danger to your older children. If you have a child about to approach adolescence (it begins earlier if your child has access to technology), please pick up Betsy Turnage's notes from the seminar.  You can find them on the front foyer desk.
• Teacher Appreciation Week May 6-9!

I just want to take a moment to thank all the teachers and substitutes that we have at Shining Light.  They go out of their way each day to make sure that your child feels loved.  They are expected to teach, guide, herd, discipline, change diapers/pants, and wipe snotty noses for twelve children each day (Pre-K has the added responsibility of making sure that your little one is ready for kindergarten!).  On any given day I hear way more laughter and see more smiles than I do groans and frowns.  They are an amazing group, and Shining Light and Franklin Christian Church are so blessed to have them!